Reporters on the Job

August 28, 2008

• Dangerous Fitness: After a long day spent reporting around refugee camps in Sri Lanka's eastern province (see story), reporter Jason Motlagh returned to his seaside hotel and decided to go for a run.

"The beach was deserted save for a line of fishermen to my left hauling in their last catch," says Jason. "I took off in the opposite direction, and settled into a pleasant rhythm until I noticed a soldier behind some sand bags in the near distance, angrily waving his rifle, shouting. Somehow, I'd wandered into a military base. I quickly turned around and was soon met by a breathless hotel employee, who pointed out the 'high security zone: off limits!' warning sign I never saw.

"Later that evening at dinner, a local told me how a foreign aid worker was shot in the head one night the year before while jogging on a stretch of beach nearby. He was listening to his iPod, and apparently didn't hear the warning shot. Fortunately, he survived. From then on, I swore off exercise and stayed in front of the hotel."